One
is the keel, old ship of Argus, who along with Puppis (the stern), Vela (the
candle) forms a gigantic sector that dominates the austral firmament,
crosses in all their length the strip of the Milky Way, does not surprise
therefore, that stops the old ones wanted to symbolize the great Ship of the
Argonautas which, with the unfolded candles and to the orders of Jasón and
of helmsman Canopo or Canopus one goes to the conquest of the
legendary vellocino of gold. These old cultures comprise of the
Mediterranan sea that does more than two thousand years, by the precession
of the equinoxes the constellation was visible for those northern latitudes;
however, at the present time he is invisible from practically all the North
hemisphere.

Characteristics

One is in the South hemisphere, between the
parallels -50º and -75º and therefore, hair net from the North hemisphere where
I am writing these lines. It crosses the galactic equator in the western sector
of the constellation. It limits the north with Vela and
Puppis, the east with Pictor, the
south with Volans and Chamaleon
and the west with Musca and Centaurus.
One is a rich star constellation and stellar accumulations, riquísima is a
stellar zone. It emphasizes therefore, its more shining star, Canopus or the
second most shining one of the firmament after Sirius.

Main stars

a, alpha: Denominated Canopus,
dedicated to the legendary helmsman of the ship of the Argonautas and more
brilliant is second star after Sirius, of magnitude
0,63. Is 100 years 5,000 light and is more brilliant than the Sun. The
supercial temperature is 7,500 ºC like the Sun of yellow color. Form leaves
from the group of the Pleyades, stellar accumulation located in
Taurus.

b,
beta or Miaplacidus, are in the South limit of the constellation next
to Volans, is a white star located to 34 years light of magnitude 1,67.

h,
eta, is a considered peculiar star as it novates recurrent and sometimes
like nebular variable. One is immersed in a gaseous envelope of 20" of arc
that is in expansion at a speed of 500 Km/s. Brilla between magnitudes sixth
a seventh but peaky variable. It is located more than 8,000 years light
inside nebula NGC 3372 which is observed at first. According to some
investigations the mass that locks up the object could reach some thousands
of times of the Sun, but it assumes that it is member of an association or
in formation still blue unstable neostar group, young and I warm up that
they form association OB1 of Carina.

Other objects

NGC 2516: Stellar cluster located in the center of the constellation.
shining and very pretty it is formed by stars between the seventh and
twelfth magnitude. Light is to 1,400 years. It has an angular diameter of
30' and an age of 100 million years.

NGC 3114:
Stellar cluster of magnitude 4.2, formed by stars of the ninth until the
twelfth magnitude; it has an angular diameter of 35' of arc. Light is to
3,000 years and has an age of 100 million years.

Observation by telescope

To date observations by telescope have not been made since it is
located in the South hemisphere, next to the celestial and invisible South Pole from where
I write these lines to you, Majorca, Spain, although I do not
discard to someday make a trip to the seas of the south, and to lose to me in an island of
the Pacific to be able to contemplate and to locate the constellations
that still I have left to discover.

Other constellations

Next in the following window you can select
the constellation that you want to locate, to observe and to discover following with the
thematic one of the Web of Masm.